Iron Blooded Orphans Season 2 Series Review

Posted on by Karandi
Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 46

Overview:

Previously I reviewed season 1 of Iron Blooded Orphans so you can check that out here.

Season 2 pretty much picks up with Tekkadan trying to make it as a legitimate business but through various business and political maneuvers as well as some poor decision making we see our orphans going back into battle.

I reviewed this week to week so if you want to know my thoughts on individual episodes click here.

Review:

I’ve made no secret in the past that Gundam and I have a love/hate relationship. The first season of Iron Blooded Orphans was great. I really got into the characters because the orphans had some great chemistry (individual characters didn’t fare so well but as a group they were charming to watch face off against everything that stood in their way). So season 2 should have been fine.

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For the most part it is actually fine. The problem is that it doesn’t ever do anything more than fine. This is actually going to be a short review because if you’ve watched any Gundam show you know the basics of how they go anyway. And if you haven’t the Orphans is hardly the starting place even if it is fairly stand-alone.

Tekkadan is now established as a force to be reckoned with and realistically Orga should have been able to run the company legitimately with no further fuss. Yet this is Gundam and we have 25 episodes to fill, so let’s over-complicate things horribly with conspiracies within various organisations and hidden motives everywhere.

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I guess the question really comes down to what did season 2 really accomplish?

Season 1 had a clear purpose. The orphans overthrew the company that had pretty much enslaved them and then used their skills to get Kudelia to earth so that she could help Mars not be totally exploited. It had drive all the way through. The villains were clear and their purpose was simple. Stop Kudelia. Some of them were trying to do that to keep the status quo, while others had personal profits on the line, but it was all very clear.

But season 2 loses this sharp focus as motives and goals fragment across multiple organisations. Even the orphans spend a lot of the first half flitting between possible goals before they throw in behind McGillis (which is a really stupid move) and we finally move toward the, at that point, inevitable tragic end.

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However, you don’t care about this conflict. Season 1 made you care because you wanted the orphans to find a place and you wanted Kudelia to succeed. In season 2, the orphans have a place but they end up over-reaching and lose it. You can’t even see Rustal Elion as an actual villain because basically he’s doing his job (using somewhat underhanded and unethical methods at times). But we don’t get a motive from him and he doesn’t seem overly personally invested in the conflict.

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So there’s no clear purpose, the conflict is pretty much pointless, and there’s no villain to really speak of (though plenty of despicable human beings if that’s enough for you). There’s also very little in the way of character development for our main cast. They learn a little but mostly are fixed where they were during season 1.

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That doesn’t mean that there isn’t any thing going for this season. There are some spectacular space battles and lots of giant robots smashing each other into bits. Those who watch Gundam for the bang, crash, zwing sound effects will be really pleased. Plus, there’s a nice character death count by the end, though more of the orphans survived than I initially suspected would.

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Basically, I found season 2 watchable, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. It didn’t grab me the way season 1 did and while the end is satisfying enough, I’m still wondering exactly what the overall point of season 2 was supposed to be.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 50

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

This ends exactly as you would expect though I will give them points for one or two surprises (such as Ride’s future which I didn’t see coming). Still, any potential character growth for Mikazuki ends rather abruptly mid-episode much as it should given what they were up against.

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However, the general tone of the episode is reflective. More importantly, after all is said and done and all the battles and fighting, things resume pretty much the status quo. There’s some changes in how the different organisations are run and Mars does gain a bit more freedom, but these are changes that could have come about just through negotiations if people had been willing to talk. And overall, the people in charge are still the people in charge. Given the massive cost and number of deaths Gundam remains true to its general message that war really doesn’t get us very far.

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While you can mostly pick where the characters will be in the future, the second half of this episode progresses through them one by one and we see where they have ended up. For the most part this is satisfying, though very little is as satisfying as seeing Iok finally get his on the battle field.

All and all, I didn’t love this second season but it holds it together well enough. I’ll do a full review soonish.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 49

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

Orga’s death hits Tekkadan hard but Mikazuki actually takes some initiative, even if he is just using Orga’s words to rally the others followed by the blunt threat of violence. I’m not sure if this counts as development or not but it is more proactive than we have seen Mikazuki before.

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Spoilers below.

Someone finally killed McGillis. Seriously, that needed to happen episodes ago. He was a pathetic character and once his grand plan was revealed to be pretty much nothing his existence had become pretty superfluous. His death was fortunately not particularly grandiose nor did it have much impact on any of the events still in motion which is kind of the inconsequential death he deserved at that point.

Anyway, pretty much the guys from Tekkadan that we still actually know the names of are out buying time while everyone else hopefully escapes. Given Hush has already died and the others are well out-numbered I’m wondering what the final count will be next episode and whether or not the others will actually escape or if all of this is all for nothing.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 45

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

This episode is essentially the battle that we’ve been heading towards for quite awhile. Though with so little reason to care given Tekkadan threw themselves willingly into the hopeless conflict, McGillis’ plan was pretty much nothing, and given none of the other players have mattered in the slightest, essentially this is just watching bits of metal beat and shoot each other into space debris. Even the known character who died at the end of the episode couldn’t really create an emotional response given again, his death was so obvious and he willingly threw himself at it. While I genuinely had a great time watching season 1, season 2 of this show has been mostly tedious and to be honest I really don’t care who wins this battle or who survives. Still don’t want Atra to die but I’m struggling to see how she’s going to survive at this point.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 43

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

After so many episodes of talking and set-up we finally know what this has been heading towards. The problem is, that it isn’t such an awesome reveal. In point of fact it’s pretty lame. One three hundred year old machine and Fareed thinks he can take on the world.

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I guess the only question left is with Tekkadan stick with this guy until the end or will they also fall out with him once they really his plan is bonkers? Or worse, will he actually succeed? That would be depressing.

That said, we do get a lovely and dramatic return including a line that makes no logical sense but is great for an over the top stage quote, complete with pose.

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There were a few of these moments in this episode. Mikazuki letting the wrapper fly out of his hands just as Orga says they had something in their grasp was another incredibly subtle Gundam irony. For all that the first season of Orphans did a few things we haven’t really seen in Gundam before, the latter half of that season and all of season 2 has pretty much fallen back into the traditional patterns and I’ve become increasingly less engaged with the story as we’ve gone because everything that made the characters interesting has gradually been removed.

It isn’t terrible its just increasingly not really my thing.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 40

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

For anyone who has ever asked me what any Gundam story is about, episode 40 of Iron Blooded Orphans kind of defines it. Multiple factions seeking their own goals (mostly selfish ones) taking questionable actions in defence of either pride, honour, life, or some other motivator that makes backing away impossible, and the end result is usually a fairly cool space battle ending in deaths which will first be mourned and then will later give rise to yet more violence.

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It’s taken Orphans a longer time to get to this point in season 2 than a lot of other Gundam stories but ultimately this is where we are and while Naze’s death is tragic it was most definitely inevitable at this point. What annoys is how incredibly pointless it was (even though most actions in Gundam end up being pointless given even if you manage to save a life it will most likely still be ended before the final episode).

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Orga is the one I am really concerned about. I loved the positioning in this scene though with the symbol for Tekkadan prominently behind him showing us exactly why he couldn’t just act on his desire to help the Turbines. Though, maybe this inner turmoil and angst is pointless when you consider what Iok used against the Turbines. Would Tekkadan have actually made a difference to the outcome?

All and all, this episode really moves things forward from the political manoeuvering that has dominated a lot of this season and it kind of looks like events are getting firmly locked in place. The only question that remains is who will be left standing once all the moves are played?

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 38

Posted on by Karandi
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Review:

The battle is over though at a high cost to Mikazuki which then raises a lot of character questions about Mikazuki. Mostly because even though up until now he’s been relatively indifferent to most of anything and willing to do whatever Orga says, deep down I kept thinking there was more to his character and that he was keenly observing what was going on. After seeing this episode I’m now wondering if he really is just an empty vessel. Mikazuki aside, the other characters are maneuvering for position and doing damage control though while the cost of repairs to machines will be high, I somewhat suspect the damage to Orga’s calm is going to have longer lasting consequences (and in sticking with the usual pattern instead of just seeing that Orga is unsettled we have three separate characters make observations about his choices and actions – this show does not do subtle). Anyway, it feels like we’ve been on a long journey with these characters but now we’re starting to see the end point though it doesn’t look like they are going to get their happily ever after and even if some characters do it will be at a high price. Then again, it is a Gundam show so what did we expect.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 36

Posted on by Karandi
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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 36 Review:

Seriously, Iok is getting my vote for dumbest character ever and there are some really stupid characters in the Gundam universe. Other than that, this episode picks up exactly where we left off last episode, races through different dialogues with various groups of characters before going straight for a disaster bordering on tragedy.

I thought they were going for a full tragedy but they didn’t knock off the Tekkadan member yet so maybe they are waiting for next episode or maybe they feel we’ve wiped out enough Orphans until we get closer to the end. The real issue is that this enemy is a wild card. It doesn’t really fit with any of the pre-existing factions and while the mobile armour falling into any of their hands might be bad, essentially its a man-made force of nature acting on instinct rather than any plan.

That makes it difficult to really be all that concerned about and it doesn’t feel like it really fits with everything else Orphans has presented up until now.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.

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Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 Series Review

Posted on by Karandi
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Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Overview:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: The world has been divided into three large blocs; The Human Reform League, The Union and the AEU. Each group is in control of on the orbital elevators that goes to space and is responsible for providing solar energy to the earth.  In an effort to end war, a group named Celestial Being begin carrying out armed interventions using the mobile suits known as Gundam.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Review:

I will eventually get around to rewatching the second season of this and finalise my thoughts. Like most Gundam shows when you only watch the first part it is kind of incomplete and wholly depressing. Rather than the only half-kind of depressed you end up when you watch the entire thing. That said, Gundam 00 is among my favourite of the Gundam shows out there.

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If you’ve never watched one of the Gundam shows they all more or less come down to war is inevitable but no one really wants war and war has terrible consequences that trigger yet more violence. The morals and themes are contradictory as are the actions of many of the characters but if you ever want to look at the human condition and how we seem doomed to continue our cycle of violence, Gundam has you covered. It also has giant robots and fairly cool fight sequences so will keep you entertained while it destroys your faith in humanities ability to ever overcome their basic nature.

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Gundam 00 focusses on a terrorist group that were set up by a scientist 200 years ago and have been given technology that at the beginning of the series is far superior to anything the major military powers have. Essentially that means they decide who is causing conflict and then wipe them out to make the point that people shouldn’t be fighting. The fact that the 4 chosen pilots are all opposed to war even while they carry out armed interventions, and they are all aware that they are walking contradictions, makes some of the dialogue intriguing but lacks any kind of subtlety.

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What makes this particular Gundam work for me, where others don’t, is Setsuna. Taken by himself he is a fairly bland individual but in the context of the show, his history, and the relationships he creates with the other characters, he becomes fairly interesting to watch and to see the small changes that occur in him throughout the first season. Part of this is to do with meeting Marina but a lot of it has to do with his choices to find a real purpose behind his being chosen to pilot a Gundam.

For a character that outwardly seems fairly passive, he is probably one of the more self-aware characters I’ve come across. He knows his strengths and weaknesses and he second guesses his actions but keeps driving forward. His existence amongst the other Gundam pilots brings out the best, and worst, in them.

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Lockon is a really fun character to get to know, but that’s about as far as it goes, until we get to the final third of this first season when Setsuna’s past is revealed. This triggers a change in Lockon that has a profound flow on effect and forces the viewer to reconsider these characters yet again.

Tieria on the other hand, just hates Setsuna from the get go but even he manages to find common ground when the thrones show up and the two learn (briefly) how to work together. Admittedly, this is a short lived truce as both Setsuna and Tieria have some more growing up to do before they’ll actually find common ground.

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The pilot who has the least to do with Setsuna is probably my second favourite character(s). Allelujah (or Hallelujah depending on which personality is in charge) gives us some of the more entertaining moments and is strangely the most human of the four gundam pilots (despite being a modified super-soldier reject harbouring an inner psycho).

That said, Allelujah is the first to deviate from the carefully laid out plan when he goes out of his way to rescue civillians and is also regularly the voice of reason amongst the group. He also provides one of my favourite moments of character progress during the final battle sequence in season 1 but I’ll leave you to watch that for yourself.

In honesty though, there are too many characters. We have representative pilots from all the major blocs as well as independent movements, the leaders of the different countries and organisations, and almost everyone has an aide or a friend following them around so they have someone to talk to rather than monologueing all of their inner thoughts. The vast majority of these characters fall into the trap of becoming caught up in an endless cycle of vengeance and having no personality outside of ‘I’ll get him for…’. After awhile it becomes easier not to remember who they are or to care too much about their stories and the series allows you to not care about them.

Even those characters not actively involved in the fighting are all setting up their own agendas and while it kind of feels believable in that all of these people are out for their own ends, it doesn’t make for compelling watching.

And if you haven’t watched it, stop reading now because I’m about to spoil the end of season 1 without any kind of filter.

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Why do we not care? Because the vast majority of characters that we have met will either be dead or irrelevant by the end of the first season. Yep, we go for an all out space battle and knock off so many of the minor bit players it makes you wonder why they even let them get that far. We also take out a few major players in an attempt to elicit some real emotion from what is otherwise a cold spectacle that serves no purpose other than to reinforce the overall message that violence doesn’t stop war.

Then of course we skip 4 years and get to see where some of the survivors have ended up and that’s where the season ends and we’ll pick it up next time, but don’t worry, we already know who the new main antagonists are going to be because they did knock off the last one.

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Before I give my final thoughts though, I also want to point out that Saji and Louise get my vote for most annoying ‘civilian’ representatives in a military anime. I get that they are trying to show how innocents get caught up in events and how lives are ruined and I also get that a lot of why these two are annoying is because they are trying to show us a happy and uncomplicated life prior to war ripping it apart, but if I could go back and remove every scene involving these two I would.

Saji is a pathetic doormat of a character and Louise does not allow you to feel any sympathy for her when tragedy strikes because she’s been such an overbearing drama queen prior to that moment. I really disliked this pair and felt they added little to the viewing experience.

As I said in the beginning, I will rewatch the second season and then finalise my review but if you like mecha anime or if you are wanting to try one that has some interesting characters, the core cast of this are entertaining enough and the story works even if it does try to be too complicated for its own good some times.

What are your thoughts on Gundam  00?

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Iron Blooded Orphans Episode 31

Posted on by Karandi
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Reivew:

I know I’ve been predicting death for the cast of Iron Blooded Orphans for awhile now, but it is just as true this week. This is the slow motion fall toward an inevitable end (and not just because it’s part of the Gundam series). It doesn’t seem possible we could get through the next episode without someone biting it but maybe they’ll stretch this tension further. I think that’s what is really working for this series. It knows someone is going to die. The audience knows someone is going to die. But they are raising enough death flags over enough different characters that either we’re in for a massacre or they really just want to keep us guessing when and where.

That said, I’m being kind of callous given there were casualties already from Tekkadan but the show didn’t really seem to care about any of them and only one was even given a name. Plus, they’ve been mowing down the enemy left and right and nobody seems to care about any of them. This treatment of people as nothing is consistent with the show in general though with their fascination with the phrase human debris. Not to mention, we’re all just kind of waiting for Takaki to realise that their ‘leader’ is just playing with them.

It’s hard to say this episode was enjoyable because mostly you are just waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it definitely continues the story along and keeps you watching.

Iron Blooded Orphans is available on AnimeLab.